God’s All Surpassing Power To Restore Hearts

Have you ever lost heart? Maybe it was just for a few moments. Perhaps it was for a prolonged period of time.

Maybe money was tight. Bills were piling up left and right. You found yourself picking and choosing which bills were going to get paid and which ones weren’t. You felt the financial squeeze. Money problems can make a person lose heart.

Maybe you weren’t up to your eye-balls in debt, but your eyes were weary for another reason. Maybe you found yourself in a difficult relationship. Years of being wronged, being deceived, and being taken advantage of had rubbed you raw. You didn’t think there was any way this situation could be salvaged. It’s easy to lose heart when you feel your heart is being broken again and again.

Sometimes we just lose heart because of the fickleness of life in this world. At times, it seems like we can’t catch a break. At times, it feels like good people suffer for no good reason. It looks like the bad guys get away with everything. Sometimes, it feels like life kicks us when we’re already down. In these moments we may not just lose heart. Our hearts tend to grow calloused and cynical because we have doubts about everything and everyone. We’ve become frustrated and feel defeated.

Have situations like these ever caused you to lose heart?

We tend to lose heart when we no longer know what to do. We lose heart when we think there isn’t anything that we can do that will change our situation, the outcome, or anything in any meaningful way.

In his second letter to the believers in Corinth, Paul identifies situations that can cause a person to lose heart. Paul had been through it all. He had been run out of town, time and again. He had been slandered and beaten, arrested and imprisoned, stoned and left for dead. He had even been shipwrecked three times.

Paul had been through the kinds of things that might cause even the mightiest of people to lose heart. And he didn’t deny that it was tough sledding. He freely admitted: We are hard pressed on every side, perplexed, persecuted, and even struck down.

But none of those things had broken him. None of those troubles had crushed his spirit. None of those difficulties had destroyed his confidence. None of those pains or problems had caused him to lose heart.

Why not? Because Paul knew that he was the recipient of a great treasure. The same God who created light on the first day of creation had made the light of life shine in Paul’s heart. Paul knew Jesus of Nazareth was his Lord and Savior.

As Paul compared his struggles to his Savior’s he recognized common threads. Jesus had been slandered and beaten, arrested and actually put to death. Even though Jesus was God the Father’s beloved Son, his life was filed with setbacks, hardships, and suffering. But he did all this for us. He endured all these heartbreaks so that we might be healed. Jesus became weak so that we might be strengthened. Jesus tasted death so that we might have eternal life.

This knowledge, this trust, this faith was a treasure that God had placed in Paul’s heart and mind. In the midst of these adversities, Paul didn’t rely on his own strength or skill or intelligence. He didn’t try to finesse his way out of his problems. He relied on his Redeemer.

Jesus didn’t give Paul an easy path, or all the answers, or the cloak of invisibility, or the ability to dodge every difficulty. Jesus gave Paul his word. You are mine. I have purchased and won you with my suffering and death. And I won’t lose you now. Jesus has given us his Word too.

So when you are hard-pressed on every side, remember that Jesus will not let you be crushed. When you are perplexed and troubled, remember that the Jesus who rose from the dead is your hope. When you are the target of abuse, Jesus will stand by your side. When you are knocked down, Jesus will restore and refresh you.

How does he do these wonderful things? We fix our eyes on what we cannot see. We fix our eyes on Jesus, the Pioneer and Perfecter of our faith. He has redeemed us. He renews us inwardly, day by day, by reminding us of what we cannot yet see—our glorious eternity in heaven.